Born on April 2

Blanche of Lancaster (c. 1341–1368) was the daughter of Henry of Grosmont, first Duke of Lancaster, and the wife of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III of England. Her early death inspired her husband to commission the poem *The Book of the Duchess* from Geoffrey Chaucer.

An Italian mystic and theologian of the 14th century, Catherine of Siena played a major political role by convincing Pope Gregory XI to leave Avignon and return to Rome. A Doctor of the Church, she left behind a remarkable body of spiritual and epistolary work.

A German naturalist and artist of the 17th century, Maria Sibylla Merian was a pioneer in the study of insects and their metamorphosis. She led an expedition to Suriname (1699–1701) to observe and illustrate tropical flora and fauna, at a time when women rarely had access to the sciences.

Lawyer and republican statesman, Léon Gambetta proclaimed the Third Republic on September 4, 1870 following the defeat at Sedan. He organized national resistance during the Franco-Prussian War, escaping besieged Paris by balloon. A key architect of the republican regime, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1879 to 1881.

Max Ernst (1891-1976) was a German painter and sculptor, who later became an American and then a French citizen — a leading figure of Dadaism and then Surrealism. The inventor of techniques such as frottage and grattage, he explored the unconscious, dreams, and chance in a richly imaginative body of work.

Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) was an American singer, songwriter, and producer, a major figure in soul music and Motown. With the album *What's Going On* (1971), he transformed soul into a vehicle for social and political engagement.

Thierry Le Luron was a French comedian and impressionist of the 1970s and 1980s, famous for his biting parodies of the political class and show business. A major figure of the music hall, he left his mark on television and the stage before his untimely death in 1986.